The invention relates to a device for the automatically splicing a web of material in web feeding apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to an automatic splicing device for web feeding apparatus in which a web of material is drawn over at least one guide roller from a web supply roll and is stopped periodically for changing supply rolls.
It is known, in apparatus for feeding a web of material in which the web is pulled from a supply roll, to splice the web onto a new, replacement roll without stopping it. This technique is known as a "flying splice". However, such apparatus is complex and takes up considerable space. For web feeding apparatus with a plurality of successively arranged supply rolls, such as are used for the simultanecus feeding of a plurality of webs of material, such a splicing apparatus is not suitable. On the other hand, a close spacing between the rolls makes it difficult to perform the manual splicing which still today is commonly practiced.
The present invention is intended to provide a solution to the above-noted problem. It is therefore an object of the invention, in web feeding apparatus in which the web of material is stopped for roll changing, to provide a relatively simple and compact splicing apparatus to perform, in an automatic and time-saving manner, at least all those operations which are connected with splicing and which cannot be performed ahead of time outside of the web feeding apparatus.